Modulation of G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis by luteolin in human colon cancer cells and xenografts

The aim of the present study was to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms of the potent cell cycle inhibition and apoptotic effect of luteolin on LoVo human colon cancer cells. In the present study, Cell Counting kit-8 assay revealed that luteolin exerted notable cytotoxicity on LoVo cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner, with a 50% inhibitory concentration value of 66.70 and 30.47 µmol/l at the time points of 24 and 72 h, respectively. Flow cytometric analysis confirmed that luteolin promoted cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase, and subsequently induced cell apoptosis. Western blot analysis further revealed that luteolin exhibited an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of LoVo cells by inhibiting cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase transition, with an inactivation of cyclin B1/cell division cycle 2 and induction of cell apoptosis, in part via cytochrome c- and deoxyadenosine triphosphate-mediated activation of apoptotic protease activating factor 1. In vivo studies revealed that luteolin effectively decreased the colon tumor body weight of mice. Therefore, the evidence suggests that luteolin may be a potential chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent against human colon cancer.